The present invention relates to a concrete wall structure.
One problem in building or constructing large concrete walls is cracks that form in the concrete wall due to the expansion or contraction of the concrete wall. The concrete wall expands and contracts due to changes in humidity and temperature. Although in small concrete walls, the amount of expansion and contraction of the concrete wall may be structurally negligible, in large concrete walls, the aggregate amount of expansion or contraction may be structurally significant to impose significant stresses on the concrete wall to crack the same.
To mitigate against the likelihood of cracks in a large concrete wall, large concrete walls are typically constructed in smaller segments. By way of example and not limitation, a long concrete wall (see FIG. 1) may be formed via a A-B forming process. In particular, a wall form is erected at the desired location of the concrete wall. Instead of filling the entire wall form with uncured concrete, the wall form is divided into a plurality of smaller segments. Every other segment (i.e., “A” segment) is filled with uncured concrete. The concrete is then allowed to set. Thereafter, the empty segments (i.e., “B” segments) of the wall form are filled with uncured concrete.
The A-B pouring system mitigates against crack formation but has many deficiencies. The A-B pouring system requires the contractor to pour uncured concrete twice and allow sufficient time for the uncured concrete to set twice. The contractor must be present on the job site on two different days. The additional time may delay construction of the building or project. Also, the additional time requires additional labor costs increasing the price of the project and also reducing the profit margins of the contractor. Moreover, in architectural concrete structures, the first batch of uncured concrete may be different from the second batch of uncured concrete leading to color variations in adjacent segments of the wall especially in colored concrete.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method and device for building large concrete walls.